Shigeru Miyamoto, who spearheaded the development of modern video games with the hit Donkey Kong, Mario and Zelda franchises, sounds upbeat in part because some games that could have helped its struggling 3DS handheld device are available now and selling well.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Thursday, he said these games represented one of his biggest efforts yet. Fans appear to agree: Sales of the games have been among the best in the company’s history, giving it a forward thrust into the important holiday shopping season.

Miyamoto, speaking through a translator, acknowledged that both Mario titles should have been available for the 3DS at launch.

“We were often asked, ‘What can you do with the 3DS?’ and it was difficult for us to explain in words,” he said. “Now we have Super Mario 3D Land and all we have to say is, ‘Please try it, and you’ll see what the 3DS entails.’”

Miyamoto has been compared to Apple’s co-founder Steve Jobs, who died in October after a long battle with cancer. Both men’s charisma and seemingly endless string of hit ideas have led many analysts and investors alike to worry whether their respective companies can survive without them.

Miyamoto said Nintendo is well aware of this, and has created organization structures and a culture it thinks will be able to infuse his type of thoughtful yet fun designs into its products long after he is gone. Though, he noted, he is very healthy and isn’t planning to retire any time soon.

“We have to construct the structure so that the organization so that it can make it without me,” he said. “I should also admit that it might be better without me; I mean that a different approach and different talent might emerge, though I shouldn’t dwell on this because then the article might indeed say ‘Mr. Miyamoto is thinking about retiring,’ because that is not the case.”

About Japan Real Time

Japan Real Time is a newsy, concise guide to what works, what doesn’t and why in the one-time poster child for Asian development, as it struggles to keep pace with faster-growing neighbors while competing with Europe for Michelin-rated restaurants. Drawing on the expertise of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, the site provides an inside track on business, politics and lifestyle in Japan as it comes to terms with being overtaken by China as the world’s second-biggest economy. You can contact the editors at japanrealtime@wsj.com